Energy Saving Tips to Reduce Electric Bills (SUMMER & SPRING)

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What are you doing to reduce your electric bill this summer? Check out energy broker software and these Energy Saving tips to reduce electric bills, and implement what will work for you. I bet you’ll see a difference in your next bill. 🙂

As soon as the temperatures get above 75 degrees, my husband starts putting the AC on, that means my bill starts to go up, however the past 2 months (April and May) our bill has only been $75 and we’ve had the AC on and nope I’m not on any leveling program, so YAY for the low bills! I’m praying that with as hot as it will be this Summer we don’t have a huge bill. However this is Louisiana and it’s humid and well, the AC is on and set to 78 degrees right now, and it’s comfy in my home. 🙂 Today’s temperature is 89 degrees, and it feels like 102 degrees! About an hour before we go to bed, my husband puts the AC on to 70 degrees. My husband can’t sleep unless it’s freezing cold. LOL

Here are 25 Energy Saving Tips to help Reduce Electric Bills.

I’ve posted what my husband and I do in red so it’s easier to follow.

Use ceiling fans to help circulate air throughout the houseIf you do not have ceiling fans, you should purchase one for each room! Ceiling fans keep your rooms cool without the Air Conditioner being on. A ceiling fan should run clockwise during the summer, and counter-clockwise during the winter. In the morning, I don’t have anything on, it’s nice and cool from the night time cool down. I put the Ceiling fan on at 76 degrees around 11 am, 30 minutes before hubby comes home for lunch and depending on the outside heat I may leave it on set at 78 to keep the house cool. We put our Air Conditioner at 75 in the evening and the ceiling fan on. It gets very comfortable.

Levelized Billing through your Electric CompanyDoes your Electric company have leveled billing? Have you thought about joining but unsure if this will actually help?Although we joined the leveled billing in 2013, we ended it in October 2016! I regretted being on levelized billing, because our winter bills were $40-$50 and with leveled billing it went up to $100

Unplug ALL small appliances!When small appliances are plugged in, they use energy, even if you are not using them at the time. For instance, your cell phone plug, hair dryer, electric can opener, toaster/toaster oven, coffee pot and so on, all are using energy while they are plugged in and not in actual use. This is called “Hidden Load”, it means that unused devices that are plugged into a socket still draw at least 1 watt of electricity. In an average home, 40% of all electricity used to power electronics is consumed when the devices are off. (Thanks Green-e-ology)We leave ours plugged in. Just too much to have to remember to plug in everyday.

Purchase a Digital Programmable ThermostatOne of the Better Ways to Conserve Energy in Your House. Info on why it’s better. We have a brand new digital thermostat that the repair guy installed when our heater went out and nothing seemed to fix it, he thought it was the thermostat, I wish I had known I would have gotten a programmable one. Digital thermostats keep better track of the temperature.

Change or clean your furnace/AC filter once a month.Dust and dirt can quickly clog the parts, making your furnace/AC run harder and eventually break down.

Quit heating and cooling the outdoors!

If you have a fireplace, close the damper. When you keep it open, you lose over 8% of your heating or cooling through that one damper.

Make sure you keep all of your outside doors closed. The amount of heat or cooling that escapes around doors is equivalent to having a window open.

Close cooling vents and turn off window refrigerated air-conditioners in unused rooms. Keep doors to unused rooms closed. We keep every door in the house closed! Including the bathroom.

Keep the curtains and blinds closed on cold, cloudy days. It helps block the cold outside air from getting inside. Also, keeping the curtains closed on very hot days keeps the hot air out!

Look for the “EnergyStar” logo. This designation from the Environmental Protection Agency means that the appliance exceeds minimum federal energy – use standards, usually by a significant amount.

Turn Lights OFF!If you are going to be out of the room for more than five minutes, turn off the light! Studies have shown that turning on and off light switches (no matter how many times) STILL saves on energy costs. If you have kids in the house, hang a sign up that says TURN ME OFF ! Or maybe its YOU that needs to be reminded to turn the light off. I am forever turning lights off in the morning. My husband leaves them on so when he’s ready to leave for work, it’s already on. He’s out the room for at least 30 minutes so off it goes! 🙂

Reduce Electric Bills by using a single bulb in a multi-socket fixture.Never mind about what my husband says, light bulbs put off a LOT of heat! We currently have 1 light bulb in our ceiling fan in the living room, I’m about to take 1 from the ceiling fan in our bedroom and I’m leaving the 3 in the kitchen because they aren’t that high of a wattage

Use fluorescent light bulbs.They produce the same amount of light by using 1/4 of the electricity. In addition, they last for years and years without burning out. We swapped to these, however they burned out within a month, not worth the money to me.

Wash dishes in a dishwasherIf you have a dishwasher: FILL it up before turning it on, uses less energy to wash a full load! If you don’t have a dishwasher, dishes should be washed as they are used, less water to run! I wash dishes twice a day: after we eat lunch: takes care of breakfast (coffee cup, spoon and bowl or dish) and lunch (2 dishes and silverware). Then after dinner.

Interesting fact: Did you know washing dishes by hand uses up to 37% more water than running a load of dishes in the dishwasher? The biggest use of electricity in most cities is supplying water and cleaning it up after it’s been used? About 75% of water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom. Unless you have a low flush toilet, you use about five to seven gallons of water with every flush! WOW!

Open your windows on a NICE, windy day! Give the AC a break and enjoy some fresh air.We do and when we start to feel a little hot, we turn on the ceiling fan. My AC is off almost all day (until we hit the 85 degree mark). Then we close the blinds and turn on the A.C.

What to turn off!Don’t leave your computer, TVs, radios or games on. These items use electricity when you’re not using them. This is a big one, and we are guilty of leaving the TV and laptop on!We sleep with our TV on in our bedroom…hubby needs sound to sleep, but it is off from 7am – 4:45pm and then from 7pm – 10pm most of the time. I have a laptop so it’s always on.

Wash your clothes in cold water.I have to say, I’m proud of myself with this one. I rarely use anything except cold water unless I’m washing towels and sheets – in which case I use HOT on towels and Warm on sheets.

Air Quality Alert DaysWhen there is an air quality alert in place, they tell you to wash your clothes, mow the law and get gas for your car after 6PM. This is suppose to save your health and if you wait until it’s later in the evening to wash your clothes or dishes that saves how $$. I do wash clothes in the evening most of the time now.

Air FryersEnergy efficiency: Because an air fryer can fry, grill, roast and bake, you can cut out the need to power up your stove; overall saving you more money on your electricity.We have an air fryer and we LOVE IT! It takes 7 minutes to cook french fries, 15 minutes to cook chicken wings and 6 minutes to do breaded chicken breast (Tyson). We’ve cooked other things, just giving a few ideas that take longer to cook in the oven. AND it’s LESS calories NO HEAT!

Use Microwave OvensMicrowave ovens use around 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens do. So if you are warming up left overs, do it in the microwave. Or better yet, switch to a small toaster oven/stove to cook as many meals as you can in. If you have an outdoor grill, use it instead of the stove. We use ours a lot during the summer

Don’t leave the refrigerator door open.Every time it’s opened, up to 30 percent of the cooled air escapes. The same rule holds for the oven, too.I’m starting to get my almost 3 yr old granddaughter to hurry in the fridge! LOL By now she knows what Gramma has in her draw and so she hurries and gets what she wants and closes the door

Turn Down Your Refrigerators & Freezers!Refrigerators suck up about 20% of your household electricity use. Time to turn them down! Aim for somewhere between 38-42 degrees in the fridge, and 0-5 degrees in the freezer. If you have an energy saver switch, make sure it’s flipped on. Doors should be sealed tight: to test, stick a dollar bill between the gaskets and close the fridge door; if the bill is hard to pull out you’re in good shape. If not, it’s time to replace the gaskets

Vacuum the refrigerator coils about twice a year to keep the compressor running efficiently.

Vacuum registers and vents regularly, and don’t let furniture and draperies block the air flow. Inexpensive plastic deflectors can direct air under tables and chairs.

New House?

Plant a tree. One well-placed shade tree can reduce electric bills by 25 percent.Insulate the attic Insulation in the attic keeps your air inside and the hot air out!Install a water-saving shower head. Don’t worry – it won’t reduce your water pressure. A family of four, each taking a five-minute shower a day, can save $250 a year in water heating costs (electric water heater) by switching to a low-flow shower head.

When you take a vacation, don’t forget to give your appliances a rest too. Saving electricity usage while on vacation will definitely help reduce your energy bill! Turn off and unplug everything you can, set your water heater to the lowest setting and shut off the water supply to the dishwasher and washing machine.

Do you have any energy saving tips to reduce electric bills I haven’t listed? Please share them.

I’m a Gramma to a beautiful, funny, smart little girl who was born in July of 2014. She’s the joy of my family and I’m so very proud to be a gramma (an alternate spelling for grandma)! I am a coffee, music, movie and outdoor lover! I love festivals and concerts. Spending time with my family is the best time in my life. I love my blogging job and all it has given me.

Comments

Some simple tips that really can make a difference. I keep trying to tell my husband we need to unplug some of those appliances when not in use. We seldom use the t.v., so that’s not an issue, but I am bad about leaving my laptop up and running.

About Me

I'm a fun loving, somewhat Tech Savvy Grandma living life in Louisiana. I love to share new products, great deals, recipes, and more. My granddaughter has turned my family into an outdoor loving family. Welcome to my modern day gramma world.